tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99952062016-12-09T19:41:10.417-07:00Lesa's Book CritiquesSharing Books and Authors, with an emphasis on Mysteries.Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.comBlogger4381125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-43016253006705701832016-12-09T03:00:00.000-07:002016-12-09T03:00:19.762-07:00Queen of the Cookbooks by Ashton Lee<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-onc_S23jWyk/WEogTsMGDCI/AAAAAAAAjL0/ET7Bx69O1J0HEsuoIo60ylyeVkEHPRNAwCLcB/s1600/Cookbook%2BQueen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-onc_S23jWyk/WEogTsMGDCI/AAAAAAAAjL0/ET7Bx69O1J0HEsuoIo60ylyeVkEHPRNAwCLcB/s1600/Cookbook%2BQueen.jpg" /></a>Although Ashton Lee hasn't wrapped up his Cherry Cola Book Club series, he brings one of Library Director Maura Beth McShay's dreams to a successful conclusion in&nbsp;<i>Queen of the Cookbooks</i>. Faithful readers will rejoice along with the members of the club, but it's obvious Maura Beth faces trouble in the future.<br /><br />Finally! It's been a seven-year struggle, but Cherico, Mississippi is finally ready to open the new library, with all the pageantry of a July 4th celebration. But, Maura Beth confides to her new husband that something's missing. It's on a wandering trip one day that she realizes they don't have food for the grand opening. Her plan? Tents offering food, and a contest to name the best dish, with the person who made the dish crowned as Queen of the Cookbooks. But, nothing comes easy for the Library Director. Two of the cooks are at war, determined to beat each other, using sabotage if necessary.<br /><br />But, the two warring contestants are the least of Maura Beth's problems. Her teenage clerk, Renette, has a crush on country star and entrepreneur Waddell Mack. She has dreams that could only stir up trouble with her conservative parents. And, those parents have already confronted Maura Beth, complaining about the books in the library while demanding the removal of some of them.<br /><br />Ashton Lee's novels always have charming Southern characters, lively book discussions, and mouthwatering recipes. &nbsp;Maura Beth McShay has grown into a confident library director who faces down controversy, and unites the citizens of Cherico once again in this enjoyable book. <i>Queen of the Cookbooks</i> is the culmination of an ongoing storyline, and what should be the culmination of any Library Director's career. It's time for Maura Beth to move on with her personal life, although, as always there will be issues to deal with at the library.<br /><br />Queen of the Cookbooks by Ashton Lee. Kensington Books. 2016. ISBN 9781496705785 (paperback), 245p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - The author sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.<br /><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-21482626224010741242016-12-08T03:00:00.000-07:002016-12-08T03:00:19.215-07:00Have You Heard? - Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r6IhR3pWAvU/WEidAKkKi8I/AAAAAAAAjLg/3RGs8tt4z-ogzKi2mSpE1D4wwt-dx8fSQCLcB/s1600/Dead%2BCold%2BBrew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r6IhR3pWAvU/WEidAKkKi8I/AAAAAAAAjLg/3RGs8tt4z-ogzKi2mSpE1D4wwt-dx8fSQCLcB/s1600/Dead%2BCold%2BBrew.jpg" /></a>Holiday party at work. Board meeting. And, other excuses for "busyness". I'm glad Sandie Herron is <br />willing to fill in now and then with "Have You Heard?"<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">“Have You Heard?” is a new column featured only on Lesa’s Book Critiques.&nbsp; It features many reviews of audiobooks (fiction, with a concentration in mysteries) but these reviews will include recent and past books for an interesting mixture of titles. Content is usually written by Sandie Herron. &nbsp;The column is published sporadically, so you’ll want to watch for it!</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;"><br /></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: comic sans ms;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">Before I turn today's column over to Sandie, I'll mention news from Cleo Coyle. Their new Coffeehouse Mystery, <i>Dead Cold Brew,</i> will be released Jan. 10, 2017 in print, digital and audio, and has been selected as an offering of the Mystery Guild. Watch for my review of that! In the meantime, I'll turn this over to Sandie for her review of the second Coffeehouse Mystery in audio, <i>Through the Grinder</i>.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: comic sans ms;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: comic sans ms;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">*****</span></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/VNDI_J1UrnZ6-lscClzDp_Bhdny2adtfruFmfL1AUm4pA57iHXcjC0mpLfxUv5_pneKI49JWRIdMdH3aPpcy6kcY59KxCYBx7V2XtKPLKsvHoaV19_fbSMzwS1ozhjxqPgkas6YlLSmZFyDfTg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51zYUoXtrDL._AA300_.jpg" border="0" height="144" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/VNDI_J1UrnZ6-lscClzDp_Bhdny2adtfruFmfL1AUm4pA57iHXcjC0mpLfxUv5_pneKI49JWRIdMdH3aPpcy6kcY59KxCYBx7V2XtKPLKsvHoaV19_fbSMzwS1ozhjxqPgkas6YlLSmZFyDfTg" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="144" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Through the Grinder</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Cleo Coyle, Narrated by Rebecca Gibel</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unabridged Audiobook, Listening Length: 8 hours&nbsp;and&nbsp;13 minutes</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audible.com Release Date: September 15, 2011</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ASIN: B005N51JDO</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though the Grinder is the second book in the Coffee House mystery series, it was more than a cozy mystery; it was humor, suspense, romance, and more.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clare Cosi was managing the Village Blend one evening when she decided to sit in on the weekly dating group meeting to oversee her daughter Joy's participation. &nbsp;She met a different man every five minutes and was encouraged to make three dates. &nbsp;She felt most of the 20 men were not desirable except for one man -- Bruce Bowman.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unfortunately the woman Bruce left with was found dead, a suspected suicide. &nbsp;Clare's friend Detective Mike Quinn says it was murder, and she was pushed. &nbsp;He has tied this case to the supposed suicide of another Village Blend regular pushed onto the subway tracks. &nbsp;Then another customer was run over by a sanitation truck. &nbsp;Misstep or murder?</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clare has been getting to know Bruce and quickly falling in love. &nbsp;She begins her own investigation when Det. Quinn names his suspect, none other than Bruce!</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many plot lines twisted together, and many facts are shared between the deaths. &nbsp;Clare's search tied together several more details. &nbsp;I need to comment on how well Cleo Coyle slips in facts on New York City and other subjects. &nbsp;This could become too heavy handed, but she does use restraint. &nbsp;When she explains how to make cappuccino on Bruce's new expresso machine, the innuendo had my husband and me tied in knots as we laughed out loud over the audio book. &nbsp;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-7681eb5e-dba5-fd47-7ab5-8bdf36f0d871"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was an excellent entry in the series, a wonderful sophomore effort. &nbsp;I would never have guessed this was only book two. &nbsp;I am very much looking forward to reading Coyle's entire series.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;"><br /></span><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-22222176065763359522016-12-07T03:00:00.000-07:002016-12-07T03:00:19.206-07:00Glow of Death by Jane K. Cleland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vBaqZW3gM_A/WEdYo_cdctI/AAAAAAAAjKs/QpZhIL57tWgzf68I3Ln7mzzOTl03Z9_ogCLcB/s1600/Glow%2Bof%2BDeath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vBaqZW3gM_A/WEdYo_cdctI/AAAAAAAAjKs/QpZhIL57tWgzf68I3Ln7mzzOTl03Z9_ogCLcB/s1600/Glow%2Bof%2BDeath.jpg" /></a></div>Jane K. Cleland's Josie Prescott Antiques mysteries are some of the best traditional mysteries I read every year. Josie continues to grow and develop as a character. The antiques involved are relevant to the mystery, and the information about those antiques is fascinating.&nbsp;<i>Glow of Death</i>&nbsp;is another outstanding entry in the series.<br /><br />Although Josie knows that everyone hopes they actually own a Tiffany lamp, when she's asked to appraise one that has been in Edwin Towson's family for generations, she's excited. Prescott's Antiques &amp; Auctions in Rocky Point, New Hampshire has an excellent reputation in the field. When she tells Edwin's wife, Ava, that the Tiffany lamp is authentic, both women are thrilled. Ava even agrees to allow Josie to use the antique in her television show, knowing that will build excitement if the Towsons decide to sell it. However, murder builds excitement as well.<br /><br />When the Towsons' dog-walker finds Ava's body, the police chief is at Josie's getting ready for the annual July 4th celebration. So, Chief Ellis Hunter asks Josie to identify the body. When Josie says she never saw the woman before, she realizes she's been played. Someone used Josie and her business to identify a priceless antique. Josie is furious that she was duped. Her reputation is in jeopardy. And, she's determined to find out why someone set her up for deception in a murder.<br /><br /><i>Glow of Death</i> is a character-driven, intricately plotted mystery. It's engrossing and suspenseful. Josie is a complex character who has built a family around her over the years, and over the course of the series. Her emotions are believable, and her reasons for investigating are believable. She's a well-developed, strong character. But, despite her determination to find answers, she turns her information in to the police, and works with them to solve the case. The characters are solid in these books, from Josie's staff to the police chief. Even the animals in the books have personalities. And, Prescott's descriptions of the antiques are richly detailed. Josie Prescott's love of antiques and research is one reason she's such a believable amateur sleuth, a woman who does her homework.<br /><br />Every time I review one of Jane K. Cleland's mysteries, I encourage readers to go back. Start at the beginning. Watch Josie Prescott develop from the timid, lonely woman she was in the first book to the confident businesswoman she is now. It's worth your time. <i>Glow of Death </i>is just the latest enjoyable, strong entry in this series.<br /><br />Jane K. Cleland's website is <a href="http://www.janecleland.net/">www.janecleland.net</a><br /><br />Glow of Death by Jane K. Cleland. Minotaur Books. 2016. ISBN 9781250102973 (hardcover), 293p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - The author sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-70018729223256162162016-12-06T03:00:00.000-07:002016-12-06T03:00:12.093-07:00It's That Time of Year<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g0CSUmaTyDg/WEYZSNUrM7I/AAAAAAAAjJo/mwllZfMns5E9YMlWyT40oW1MCx6AxvjSQCLcB/s1600/Glow%2Bof%2BDeath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g0CSUmaTyDg/WEYZSNUrM7I/AAAAAAAAjJo/mwllZfMns5E9YMlWyT40oW1MCx6AxvjSQCLcB/s1600/Glow%2Bof%2BDeath.jpg" /></a>It's that time of year when there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day. Of course, the work day is the same. But, I had books and a present and Christmas cards to open when I arrived home yesterday. (Yes, I was supposed to open that present now.) And, a friend to thank, and a Christmas letter to read, along with a wonderful newspaper story that's going through my family. It's about a 92-year-old veteran of World War II who we all know, and several of us had as a teacher in high school. So, as much as I'm loving Jane Cleland's&nbsp;<i>Glow of Death&nbsp;</i>(she continues to top herself), I didn't get it finished to review for today.<br /><br />So, you all know what I'm currently reading. As my friend Kaye Wilkinson Barley said, at <a href="http://www.jungleredwriters.com/2016/12/oh-kaye-chats-about-sickness-of-busy.html" target="_blank">Jungle Red Writers</a>, maybe I shouldn't tell you how busy I've been. We're all busy. Instead, just tell us what you're reading.Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-49719235695823514332016-12-05T03:00:00.000-07:002016-12-05T06:37:10.140-07:00Into the Lion's Den by Linda Fairstein<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rBgGLWGIngE/WER5LYQv-6I/AAAAAAAAjJM/qCrcdjLkW5sP0ZjChoOi81DdWQNNYy5AwCLcB/s1600/Into%2Bthe%2BLion%2527s%2BDen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rBgGLWGIngE/WER5LYQv-6I/AAAAAAAAjJM/qCrcdjLkW5sP0ZjChoOi81DdWQNNYy5AwCLcB/s1600/Into%2Bthe%2BLion%2527s%2BDen.jpg" /></a>Linda Fairstein is the perfect author to set a series of juvenile mysteries in New York City. Who knows it any better than the author of the Alexandra Cooper novels? Fairstein, a former prosecutor for Manhattan, utilizes the city's landmarks as essential elements in her mysteries. In the first Devlin Quick mystery,&nbsp;<i>Into the Lion's Den,</i> the New York Public Library's map room is the scene of a crime.<br /><br />Twelve-year-old Devlin is in front of the New York Public Library waiting for Liza de Lucena, an Argentinian summer student at Devlin's school. When Liza comes out, she and Devlin chase after a man that Liza claims cut a page from a rare book in the Map Division. It's a chase that ends in the subway, but Devlin has a poor photo of the man. Unfortunately, no one believes the two girls, including Devlin's mother, Blaine Quick, the police commissioner of NYC.<br /><br />But, Devlin believes Liza. Together with Devlin's friend, Booker, the three do research at the library, and, using a few resources at One Police Plaza, or the Puzzle Palace as Devlin calls it, they narrow their suspects to three. Devlin's online research, and their interview with a librarian, reveals a world of valuable maps and ruthless thefts of maps. How do three young people track down a map thief when librarians, scholars, and the police have not yet caught him?<br /><br />Remembering the years when I read juvenile mysteries, I would have snapped up <i>Into the Lion's Den</i>. It features a trio of intrepid young sleuths, a library, and New York City sites. The three amateur detectives, led by Devlin Quick, utilize online resources, modern detective methods, and their own ingenuity to find and trap a thief. It's an entertaining, fast-paced mystery. I hope today's young mystery readers are as eager to follow future adventures of Devlin Quick as I would have been at that age.<br /><br />Linda Fairstein's website is <a href="http://www.lindafairstein.com/">www.lindafairstein.com</a><br /><br />Into the Lion's Den by Linda Fairstein. Dial Books for Young Readers. 2016. ISBN 9780399186431 (hardcover), 312p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - Library bookLesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-8413405557993622022016-12-04T03:00:00.000-07:002016-12-04T03:00:05.344-07:00The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RUJ0yocaTTs/WENyZUIPIHI/AAAAAAAAjI0/WURbIstdltwXhu4ZqTiKbIRq8kJUE4EtACLcB/s1600/Whole%2BTown%2527s%2BTalking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RUJ0yocaTTs/WENyZUIPIHI/AAAAAAAAjI0/WURbIstdltwXhu4ZqTiKbIRq8kJUE4EtACLcB/s1600/Whole%2BTown%2527s%2BTalking.jpg" /></a>While the book jacket says Fannie Flagg's latest novel, <i>The Whole Town's Talking</i>, is about what it means to be truly alive, I looked at the book differently. I saw it as the story of a town, from birth to death. And, it's the story of the people who built the town, and who went on, even after death. It's chatty. It's the slow pace of a small town's daily life.<br /><br />In the late 1870s, Lordor Nordstrom left Sweden, and found farm land he liked in southern Missouri. He quickly sought other farmers as neighbors, and, by 1880, a small community others called Swede Town was starting to grow. This is the story of Swede Town, later renamed Elmwood Springs. Lordor Nordstrom was named the first mayor, and he and his family, and the other town founders, proved to be excellent stewards of the town. But, Lordor always had his eye on the future, and he donated land for Still Meadows, the local cemetery. Flagg's story is about those town founders, the growth of the town through the twentieth century, and the eventual fate of so many small communities. But, those town founders, including Lordor, his wife, and his friends, found another community in Still Meadows. And, it was from there that they watched the activity of the town, and learned about the events from each new arrival in Still Meadows.<br /><br />Flagg covers the entire century, the little town, the First World War, which didn't have a great impact, the Second World War, which brought grief. But, she also deals with the businesses in Elmwood Springs and the people who run the dairy, the bakery, the first school. It wasn't until 1956 that Elmwood Springs felt the need to have a police department. And, by the end of the century, there was a crime that affected everyone, living and dead.<br /><br />One of the elders of the town, Elner Shimfissle, is a large farm woman with an appreciation for daily life. Fannie Flagg is wise in giving a primary role to a woman who is beloved by family, friends, and, who will be loved by readers. Even in death, Elner is wise about life. "I think most people are confused about life, because it's not just one thing going on. It's many things going on at the same time. Life is both sad and happy, simple and complex, all at the same time."<br /><br />There are moments of humor in <i>The Whole Town's Talking.</i> I found one scene for tears, a scene at the cemetery. Maybe Flagg's book is about life. I still see it as the story of a small town, Elmwood Springs in this case, but the story of so many small towns. It's where you learn "The true meaning of family and friendship and what it means to be a good neighbor." It's a charming story of responsibility. It's a quiet book with little more than the drama of ordinary life. Isn't that enough?<br /><br />The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg. Random House. 2016. ISBN 9781400065950 (hardcover), 403p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - Library bookLesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-23888628449164399892016-12-03T03:00:00.000-07:002016-12-03T03:00:03.547-07:00Dead Man Walking by Simon R. Green<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eMjtYmqtfCQ/WEIu6V7FPtI/AAAAAAAAjIc/o6HAKZGf7TEiFmvTeOcj52Vt2iAqhWgfQCLcB/s1600/Dead%2BMan%2BWalking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eMjtYmqtfCQ/WEIu6V7FPtI/AAAAAAAAjIc/o6HAKZGf7TEiFmvTeOcj52Vt2iAqhWgfQCLcB/s1600/Dead%2BMan%2BWalking.jpg" /></a>I'm addicted to Simon R. Green's Ishmael Jones mysteries, but the third one is only on order for us, so I have to wait to read the next one.&nbsp;<i>Dead Man Walking</i> wasn't quite up to the first country house mystery with supernatural overtones, but it was still intriguing.<br /><br />Here's what Green writes about in his urban fantasies, in this case, "country house mysteries". "There is a world beneath the world; a hidden place of secrets and lies, deception and double-dealing, masquerade and murder. Where people you've never heard of work for departments that don't officially exist, doing things that no one will ever admit to. It can be a fascinating life if you don't weaken, but it's not for the faint of heart." Ishmael Green is not faint of heart, and neither is his companion on this adventure, Penny Belcourt. Frank Parker, who was once a field agent for the Organization, wants to come in from the cold. He says he has information about traitors within the Organization. &nbsp;Parker's under tight security at an isolated location in northern Yorkshire, Ringstone Lodge. The Colonel sends a top field agent, Ishmael, to supervise the security and question Parker.<br /><br />Once Ishmael and Penny arrive, they find the usual assortment of odd characters, the former military man who supervises the lodge, two security men, two doctors determined to make their names by breaking Frank Parker, a tech person supervising all the computers and security cameras, and, of course, Parker himself. It seems a small group for the large manor, but it becomes even smaller as people are killed, one by one.<br /><br />As I said, <i>Dead Man Walking </i>was a little weaker than the previous book, <i>The Dark Side of the Road. </i>This time, it was obvious to me who the killer was. Ishmael Green didn't believe it was a ghost, and neither did I. But, the black humor is still there, and I appreciate it. At one point, Penny says, "Because let's face it, if he isn't the killer he might as well have 'Future Victim' tattooed on his forehead." And, when they finally have a chance to explore, she comments, "It's not a proper country-house mystery if there aren't sliding panels and secret passageways. Everyone knows that."<br /><br />Humor, intrigue, and a pair of well-matched sleuths. Urban fantasy? Mystery? Spy novel? <i>Dead Man Walking</i> is one of those genre-blends that are so popular now. I'm glad Simon R. Green mixes paranormal, mystery, and that delicious black humor.<br /><br />Simon R. Green's website is <a href="http://www.simonrgreen.co.uk/">www.simonrgreen.co.uk</a><br /><br />Dead Man Walking by Simon R. Green. Severn House. 2016. ISBN 9780727886231 (hardcover), 201p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - Library book<br /><br /><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-49550983779800568512016-12-02T03:00:00.000-07:002016-12-02T06:43:34.982-07:00January Treasures in My Closet - Part 2I have another collection of books to tempt you today. I hope you're excited about some of the January releases.<br /><br /><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3deAmP3CA94/WD4cwxCWzzI/AAAAAAAAjEs/Qx4ZCD3twdA0Q_C-5XajRGmz46IWspguwCLcB/s1600/Dry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3deAmP3CA94/WD4cwxCWzzI/AAAAAAAAjEs/Qx4ZCD3twdA0Q_C-5XajRGmz46IWspguwCLcB/s200/Dry.jpg" width="131" /></a>We have a number of interesting debut novels this month. In Jane Harper's <i>The Dry</i>, "Small towns can hide big secrets." Federal Agent Aaron Falk returns to his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years earlier, Falk was accused of murder, but Luke was his alibi. Now, someone knows the two didn't tell the truth, and Luke has killed himself. Now, Luke and the local detective question the official verdict in Luke's death. Long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AaUWQKprAgk/WD4eXl0_AoI/AAAAAAAAjE0/Xjuk09IykpE2cSt7J0s7KkbUURpFS_SuACLcB/s1600/Chase%2BMe%2BDown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AaUWQKprAgk/WD4eXl0_AoI/AAAAAAAAjE0/Xjuk09IykpE2cSt7J0s7KkbUURpFS_SuACLcB/s200/Chase%2BMe%2BDown.jpg" width="130" /></a>"<i>True Grit</i> meets C<i>atch Me If You Can</i>" in Andrew Hilleman's debut novel, <i>World, Chase Me Down</i>. It's based on the forgotten true story of a Robin Hood of the American frontier who pulls off the first successful kidnapping for ransom in U.S. history. (Release date is Jan. 24.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-McN1uKjqHuc/WD4gqcCFnJI/AAAAAAAAjFE/zkJRJVwnyQ8pKStp8Z_phlm-Iu0QlHWEACLcB/s1600/Three%2BYears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-McN1uKjqHuc/WD4gqcCFnJI/AAAAAAAAjFE/zkJRJVwnyQ8pKStp8Z_phlm-Iu0QlHWEACLcB/s200/Three%2BYears.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />Blake Crouch, author of this year's hit, <i>Dark Matter,</i> raves about Jay Hosking's debut, <i>Three Years with the Rat. </i>He calls it, "A mind-warping thriller that will make you question reality as you conceive it." A young man's quest to find his missing sister will catapult him into a dangerous labyrinth of secrets in this genre-blending novel. (Release date is Jan. 24.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YgLh8D5G9Zo/WD9TKh-97yI/AAAAAAAAjFo/Gwppg5-_aIMmh0FInOaWywS72z7m6gvOQCLcB/s1600/Hey%2BHarry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YgLh8D5G9Zo/WD9TKh-97yI/AAAAAAAAjFo/Gwppg5-_aIMmh0FInOaWywS72z7m6gvOQCLcB/s200/Hey%2BHarry.jpg" width="133" /></a>Rachel Hulin's debut is <i>Hey Harry, Hey Matilda</i>, an inventive novel told entirely in e-mails, the story of fraternal twins Henry and Matilda Goodman. They're fumbling their way into adulthood, telling lies, keeping secrets (Matilda tells her boyfriend she has a dead twin), and finally confronting their complicated relationship. (Release date is Jan. 17.)<br /><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x6NyylHFJLE/WD9Xri3R8lI/AAAAAAAAjF0/muIwEt0UG54OVGSvuRL79_d-irLG-t5rQCLcB/s1600/Most%2BDangerous%2BPlace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x6NyylHFJLE/WD9Xri3R8lI/AAAAAAAAjF0/muIwEt0UG54OVGSvuRL79_d-irLG-t5rQCLcB/s200/Most%2BDangerous%2BPlace.jpg" width="131" /></a><i>The Most Dangerous Place on Earth</i>, Lindsey Lee Johnson's debut takes readers back to a dangerous place, the American high school. A new teacher, Molly Nicoll, becomes intrigued by the hidden lives of her privileges students. But, she doesn't know that a middle school tragedy continues to reverberate for the kids. They were all complicit. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kinzGWTHaEE/WD9Z3QP1SDI/AAAAAAAAjGA/d-aVTteQq6E6onmZo_0UelCGbt2tYdd1ACLcB/s1600/Snowblind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kinzGWTHaEE/WD9Z3QP1SDI/AAAAAAAAjGA/d-aVTteQq6E6onmZo_0UelCGbt2tYdd1ACLcB/s200/Snowblind.jpg" width="132" /></a>The thriller <i>Snowblind</i> by Ragnar Jonasson was a bestseller in England. Now, it makes its U.S. debut. It's set in idyllic fishing village in northern Iceland where Ari Thor Arason is a rookie policeman on his first posting. When a young woman is found lying half-naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and an elderly writer falls to his death in the local theater, Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one. (Release date is Jan. 31.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BuRfdS6-MWI/WD9bs-o-gMI/AAAAAAAAjGM/UjOEkJCUiXQtV_vpd9WZoEcmZ1qgcaGOQCLcB/s1600/Anthony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BuRfdS6-MWI/WD9bs-o-gMI/AAAAAAAAjGM/UjOEkJCUiXQtV_vpd9WZoEcmZ1qgcaGOQCLcB/s200/Anthony.jpg" width="132" /></a>After all those debuts, we have <i>Shoes for Anthony</i> by Emma Kennedy. Set in a small Welsh coal-mining town during World War II, it tells the story of Anthony, a boy who is anticipating the arrival of American troops. Inn 1944, a German plane crashes into the village mountain. A Polish prisoner-of-war survives and develops a close relationship with Anthony. Then, the villagers discover one of the Germans on the plane survived and is still on the mountain. (Release date is Jan. 31.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wx0tu7H5RGU/WD9d7uXGFrI/AAAAAAAAjGY/dKP4JmYoeZUiW1GvtalA0sX_NmCKJa0aACLcB/s1600/Patriots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wx0tu7H5RGU/WD9d7uXGFrI/AAAAAAAAjGY/dKP4JmYoeZUiW1GvtalA0sX_NmCKJa0aACLcB/s200/Patriots.jpg" width="131" /></a>Three generations of a Russian-American Jewish family are caught in the turmoil of the Soviet Union and its aftermath in Sana Krasikov's novel, <i>The Patriots</i>. During the Great Depression, a young woman who just graduated from college follows a Soviet engineer back to the Soviet Union. The Soviets may have made promises for the future, but Florence finds life imperiled by purges, interrogations, and executions. Years later, her son goes back to the U.S., but returns when he learns his mother's KGB file has been opened. (Release date is Jan. 24.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hx6IxfmMln8/WD9frYE8poI/AAAAAAAAjGk/9nOj70xE6Ekg-ZUHT5UmyFwf_yL7CIvygCLcB/s1600/Leopard%2Bat%2Bthe%2BDoor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hx6IxfmMln8/WD9frYE8poI/AAAAAAAAjGk/9nOj70xE6Ekg-ZUHT5UmyFwf_yL7CIvygCLcB/s200/Leopard%2Bat%2Bthe%2BDoor.jpg" width="132" /></a>Jennifer McVeigh takes readers to Kenya in the 1950s in <i>Leopard at the Door. </i>Rachel has returned to Kenya and the farm where she spent her childhood after spending six years in England. She discovers changes in the household, and in the country, as Kenya grows more unsettled every day. Looming over them all is the threat of Mau Mau, a secret society determined to unite the Africans and overthrow the whites. The story is set against the fading backdrop of the British Empire, a tale of self-discovery, betrayal, and an impossible love. (Release date is Jan. 3.)<br /><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-agBUNVBDPo8/WD9hfJVsOrI/AAAAAAAAjGw/FYcPnTwF4LAW_3e9CKM2o5oo87wEQm4ugCLcB/s1600/Everything%2BYou%2BWant%2BMe%2Bto%2BBe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-agBUNVBDPo8/WD9hfJVsOrI/AAAAAAAAjGw/FYcPnTwF4LAW_3e9CKM2o5oo87wEQm4ugCLcB/s200/Everything%2BYou%2BWant%2BMe%2Bto%2BBe.jpg" width="132" /></a><i>Everything You Want Me to Be</i> by Mindy Mejia is a psychological thriller in the same vein as <i>Gone Girl</i>. No one knows who Hattie Hoffman really is because she's spent her whole life playing roles - the good student, the good daughter, the good girlfriend. When she's found brutally stabbed to death, the tragedy rips through the small town. The novel reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman as she inches closer and closer to her death. (Release date is Jan. 3.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ni5D2gXtu7U/WD9jCJXK8hI/AAAAAAAAjG4/1YdUABb9blUQKlujviIewz03GWnrHFb_gCLcB/s1600/Hockaday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ni5D2gXtu7U/WD9jCJXK8hI/AAAAAAAAjG4/1YdUABb9blUQKlujviIewz03GWnrHFb_gCLcB/s200/Hockaday.jpg" width="132" /></a>Susan Rivers based her debut novel, <i>The Second Mrs. Hockaday</i>, on a terrible crime she read about because she couldn't stop thinking about it. In this story, Major Gryffith Hockaday is called to the frontline of the Civil War, leaving his teenage bride behind, left to care for his three-hundred acre farm and their infant son. When he finally returns two years later, he finds his wife heading for jail, accused of having borne a child in his absence, and murdering it. What really happened in the two years he was away? (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_6tCOdssVM/WD9kmbuGr8I/AAAAAAAAjHA/FQMDcM3jNmoGj283JVSJfZUpCuTF0BxHQCLcB/s1600/Boxfish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_6tCOdssVM/WD9kmbuGr8I/AAAAAAAAjHA/FQMDcM3jNmoGj283JVSJfZUpCuTF0BxHQCLcB/s200/Boxfish.jpg" width="132" /></a>Author Kathleen Rooney was inspired by Margaret Fishback, a poet and Macy's ad-writing phenom of the 1930s. In <i>Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk</i>, she introduces Boxfish, a poet who became the highest paid advertising woman in 1930s America. On New Year's Eve 1984, the octogenarian walks to the end of Manhattan and back, illuminating all the ways her world has changed, and has not. (Release date is Jan. 17.)<br /><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aLAy2CZzAkE/WD9lrzKfTdI/AAAAAAAAjHM/su_1D-ewzys9AZdIOS3N_iDVdzfwkaT3gCLcB/s1600/Indelible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aLAy2CZzAkE/WD9lrzKfTdI/AAAAAAAAjHM/su_1D-ewzys9AZdIOS3N_iDVdzfwkaT3gCLcB/s200/Indelible.jpg" width="134" /></a><i>Indelible</i> by Adelie Saunders is a debut novel that introduces Magdalena, a young woman who has a gift of seeing the truth about people written on their skin. When she meets Neil, she is intrigued to see her name on his cheek, and she is drawn into a family drama that goes back more than a half century when Neil's father was abandoned at birth by his mother. (Release date is Jan. 17.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gJeXBdjhUT0/WD9mzQAHOzI/AAAAAAAAjHY/BdgVgLFTWy8iZ8gI3QMEz098kLGmpi8kACLcB/s1600/Two%2BDays%2BGone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gJeXBdjhUT0/WD9mzQAHOzI/AAAAAAAAjHY/BdgVgLFTWy8iZ8gI3QMEz098kLGmpi8kACLcB/s200/Two%2BDays%2BGone.jpg" width="132" /></a>In Randall Silvis' <i>Two Days Gone</i>, the wife and children of a bestselling author are found slaughtered in their home, and the author himself as disappeared. Sergeant Ryan DeMarco doesn't think Huston was capable of murdering his family, but doesn't know why he's on the run if he's innocent. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFWKOhyQNFw/WD9q8bwdBNI/AAAAAAAAjHk/R-N6ZN8uiasM8r66VnkfF-7e9n7wqj63wCLcB/s1600/Home%2BSweet%2BHome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFWKOhyQNFw/WD9q8bwdBNI/AAAAAAAAjHk/R-N6ZN8uiasM8r66VnkfF-7e9n7wqj63wCLcB/s200/Home%2BSweet%2BHome.jpg" width="133" /></a><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i>Home Sweet Home</i> by April Smith follows the Kusek family from New York City to America's heartland where they are caught up in the panic of McCarthyism, a smear campaign, a sensational trial, and, ultimately, murder. (Release date is Jan. 31.)<br /><br />Here are the January releases I didn't summarize -<br /><br /><i>Mexico: A Collection of Stories</i> by Josh Barkan<br /><i>Human Acts</i> by Han King<br /><i>Homesick for Another Worl</i>d by Ottessa Moshfegh<br /><i>Idaho</i> by Emily Ruskovich<br /><i>Fever Dream</i> by Samantha Schweblin<br /><i>Lucky Boy </i>by Shanthi Sekaran<br /><i>No Man's Land</i> by Simon Tolkien<br /><i>The Animators</i> by Kayla Rae Whitaker<br /><i>The Guests on South Battery</i> by Karen White<br /><br />I hope you found a book or two, maybe a debut novel, that you want to read in January. Let me know if something sounds wonderful to you. Happy reading!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-85558166235253425592016-12-01T17:02:00.000-07:002016-12-01T17:04:04.938-07:00Winners and Next GiveawayCongratulations to the winners of the most recent contest. Both books are heading to New York. Ali Brandon's <i>Twice Told Tail </i>will go to Sonia G. of Syosset, NY. <i>Digging Up the Dirt</i> by Miranda James is going to Wendy L. from Rochester, NY.<br /><br />As I do every year, I'm closing down the contests for the month of December. Everyone's busy. And, I don't want to stand in line at the post office. So the next giveaway will kick off on Friday, Jan. 6. If you only come to Lesa's Book Critiques for the contests, I hope you come back in 2017. I wish you Happy Holidays, no matter what holiday you observe. If you come for the discussion of books, I'll see you here!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zgtaKFhdyes/WEC52-5k6bI/AAAAAAAAjIA/BM5ramWNSgEF6eBNwW7RkVCQ2w-vKCQhACLcB/s1600/christmas-wealth-information-08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zgtaKFhdyes/WEC52-5k6bI/AAAAAAAAjIA/BM5ramWNSgEF6eBNwW7RkVCQ2w-vKCQhACLcB/s320/christmas-wealth-information-08.jpg" width="309" /></a></div><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-88673534420410403972016-12-01T03:00:00.000-07:002016-12-01T03:00:12.947-07:00January Treasures in My Closet - Part 1I warned you. There are piles of books that are released in January 2017. I've picked out about fifteen books for each day, today and tomorrow. And, I'll list the other books at the end of tomorrow's post. Happy Reading in 2017 for all of us!<br /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1yUF4iNI-vc/WDnGFyPcraI/AAAAAAAAjBA/AprwkINJ2wkNV6_715Ll-GNH2H5IUkjUwCLcB/s1600/Dark%2Bat%2Bthe%2BCrossing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1yUF4iNI-vc/WDnGFyPcraI/AAAAAAAAjBA/AprwkINJ2wkNV6_715Ll-GNH2H5IUkjUwCLcB/s200/Dark%2Bat%2Bthe%2BCrossing.jpg" width="120" /></a>Elliot Ackerman kicks off the list with <i>Dark at the Crossing,</i> a timely novel. It's a love story set on the Turkish border with Syria. Haris Abadi is an Arab American, trying to get into Syria and join the fight against the regime. But, he's robbed and taken in by a Syrian refugee and his wife. Soon, Paris is struggling to decide if he's a radical or an idealist. (Release date is Jan. 24.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JwAh8ko6dSA/WDnGOPue5CI/AAAAAAAAjBE/ti3eMAgWYeA882gxuZs6KMrKK3lGFsgZgCLcB/s1600/Fudge%2Band%2BJury.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JwAh8ko6dSA/WDnGOPue5CI/AAAAAAAAjBE/ti3eMAgWYeA882gxuZs6KMrKK3lGFsgZgCLcB/s200/Fudge%2Band%2BJury.jpg" width="122" /></a>Mystery readers can kick off the new year with Ellie Alexander's <i>Fudge &amp; Jury. </i>Torte is a small-town family bakery in Ashland, Oregon, now preparing for the Shakespeare Festival and the annual Chocolate Festival. Jules' bakery business is expanding, and it looks like a great season is ahead. But, when a world-renowned chocolatier turns up dead after sampling Jules' cake, she has to sift through the suspects to find a killer. (Release date is Jan. 3.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w-wFXRMSAk4/WDnK8MRxN_I/AAAAAAAAjBU/SHMZJ0Ebhj4JXO6XxPdsAg6oktXzgPXiwCLcB/s1600/Bear%2Band%2Bthe%2BNightingale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w-wFXRMSAk4/WDnK8MRxN_I/AAAAAAAAjBU/SHMZJ0Ebhj4JXO6XxPdsAg6oktXzgPXiwCLcB/s200/Bear%2Band%2Bthe%2BNightingale.jpg" width="133" /></a>There's a lot of buzz in the library world for Katherine Arden's debut novel, <i>The Bear and the Nightingale</i>. It's a fairy tale for adults, set in the Russian wilderness where Vasilisa loves her nurse's fairy tales, especially the story of Frost, the winter demon. But, when Vasilisa's mother dies, and her father remarries, her new stepmother forbids the family to honor the household spirits. Vasilisa knows more hinges on the rituals than anyone knows, and she's eventually forced to defy the people she loves, and call on her own dangerous gifts to save the family. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bNxcd1Ucw3I/WDnTFv0qwcI/AAAAAAAAjBk/t1072PGizNAawMCW5NE3rXPgFhP6Kt5WQCLcB/s1600/Fifth%2BPetal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bNxcd1Ucw3I/WDnTFv0qwcI/AAAAAAAAjBk/t1072PGizNAawMCW5NE3rXPgFhP6Kt5WQCLcB/s200/Fifth%2BPetal.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>Brunonia Barry, author of <i>The Lace Reader</i>, returns to contemporary Salem in her latest novel, <i>The Fifth Petal</i>. When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, the murder has roots that reach back to the seventeenth-century witch trials. Chief of Police John Rafferty wonders if the murder also has links to a triple homicide of three young women, all descendants of accused Salem witches. (Release date is Jan. 24.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HlekHgDEEsU/WDnVJCvAGjI/AAAAAAAAjBw/BM306JaLw4YfZ0qCUi-r6LzA7303fy0ngCLcB/s1600/Sleepwalker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HlekHgDEEsU/WDnVJCvAGjI/AAAAAAAAjBw/BM306JaLw4YfZ0qCUi-r6LzA7303fy0ngCLcB/s200/Sleepwalker.jpg" width="131" /></a>Readers always anticipate Chris Bohjalian's new books. In <i>The Sleepwalker</i>, a wife and mother vanishes from her bed late one night. And, her children fear the worst. Their mother, Annalee Ahlberg is a sleepwalker whose affliction is sometimes bizarre. A search party looks for her, and eventually the police find a clue that seems to indicate she's dead. But, it's her oldest daughter who still has questions. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rZPGjsQOqjs/WDnVTUrcoTI/AAAAAAAAjB0/v1da0GO91JIKEp3-dNDv9cLq1dx9alQ5QCLcB/s1600/Burning%2BPage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rZPGjsQOqjs/WDnVTUrcoTI/AAAAAAAAjB0/v1da0GO91JIKEp3-dNDv9cLq1dx9alQ5QCLcB/s200/Burning%2BPage.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Followers of Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series will welcome <i>The Burning Page</i>. Librarian spy Irene is stuck on probation. But, trouble has a way of finding Irene and her apprentice, Kai, a dragon prince. This time, it's Irene's longtime nemesis with plans to destroy the entire Library, taking Irene down with it. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-33S_lWtI2ZA/WDnalzgULpI/AAAAAAAAjCE/Xu46L1R1EE0-wPNwSHvZxSl5S1NGs6cbwCLcB/s1600/My%2BHusband%2527s%2BWife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-33S_lWtI2ZA/WDnalzgULpI/AAAAAAAAjCE/Xu46L1R1EE0-wPNwSHvZxSl5S1NGs6cbwCLcB/s200/My%2BHusband%2527s%2BWife.jpg" width="132" /></a><i><br /></i><br /><i>My Husband's Wife</i> is Jane Corry's debut thriller. When Lily, a young lawyer, marries Ed, she's determined to make a fresh start, to leave the secrets of the past behind. But, secrets have a way of catching up to people, and sixteen years later, Lily finds a young woman on her doorstep, a woman who was once an inquisitive nine-year-old neighbor. (Release date is Jan. 31.)<br /><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CcBJjePzBAQ/WDnbJk-9kZI/AAAAAAAAjCI/V4JHtnW1LxgEel0_qjKDyBdXmfCMEYXEwCLcB/s1600/Antiques.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CcBJjePzBAQ/WDnbJk-9kZI/AAAAAAAAjCI/V4JHtnW1LxgEel0_qjKDyBdXmfCMEYXEwCLcB/s200/Antiques.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><i>The Antiques</i> is a comedic drama about a dysfunctional family. By Kris D'Agostino, it's the story of three estranged siblings who learn their father is dying on the night of a massive hurricane. For the first time in years, they gather at their childhood home where the storm has destroyed so much, including their family's antique store. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y8qQMqQoPI4/WDnfl-tm0mI/AAAAAAAAjCU/WnlRRsMHhX0t3GoKr59nvG8D3rgGF6TEACLcB/s1600/Girl%2BBefore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y8qQMqQoPI4/WDnfl-tm0mI/AAAAAAAAjCU/WnlRRsMHhX0t3GoKr59nvG8D3rgGF6TEACLcB/s200/Girl%2BBefore.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>JP Delaney brings us a psychological thriller, <i>The Girl Before. </i>One Folgate Street is an architectural masterpiece, but the man who designed it has rules for tenants, and he likes to retain full control of the surroundings. When Jane moves in, needing a fresh start, she is strangely drawn to the seductive creator of the space. (Release date is Jan. 24.)<br /><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yZ4kG4HmoHo/WDnimotV5iI/AAAAAAAAjCg/-bVC7bwChz4fFKjexACpQthVx25HaF7mACLcB/s1600/Trapped%2BGirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yZ4kG4HmoHo/WDnimotV5iI/AAAAAAAAjCg/-bVC7bwChz4fFKjexACpQthVx25HaF7mACLcB/s200/Trapped%2BGirl.jpg" width="133" /></a><i>The Trapped Girl</i> is the fourth book is Robert Dugoni's series featuring police detective Tracy Crosswhite. When a woman's body is discovered submerged in the child waters of Puget Sound, Crosswhite and her colleagues on the Seattle PD's Violent Crimes Section must figure out who the victim is before they can find a killer. Her autopsy reveals the victim may have gone to great lengths t conceal her identity. Who was she hiding from? (Release date is Jan. 24.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jpn53WKe960/WDnisSSEGBI/AAAAAAAAjCk/avLJc3KV8esfp_9YyQWUjbEgBueyUXv_ACLcB/s1600/Butcher%2527s%2BHook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jpn53WKe960/WDnisSSEGBI/AAAAAAAAjCk/avLJc3KV8esfp_9YyQWUjbEgBueyUXv_ACLcB/s200/Butcher%2527s%2BHook.jpg" width="133" /></a>Janet Ellis' debut novel is <i>The Butcher's Hook</i>. Set in Georgian London, this is the dark and twisted story of a nineteen-year-old girl who falls in love with a butcher's apprentice, and is determined to thwart her parents' wishes by taking her destiny into her own hands, no matter the cost. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KCgtBHOTpjY/WDni2bijc3I/AAAAAAAAjCo/Xfoa2ZrVQv8E85_uhVMQeX4OXhNKHn7zQCLcB/s1600/river%2Bat%2Bnight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KCgtBHOTpjY/WDni2bijc3I/AAAAAAAAjCo/Xfoa2ZrVQv8E85_uhVMQeX4OXhNKHn7zQCLcB/s200/river%2Bat%2Bnight.jpg" width="132" /></a>The next debut thriller is <i>The River at Night </i>by Erica Ferencik. Winifred Allen is ready for a vacation, but when three friends suggest a high-octane rafting excursion, she's not so excited. And, then the trip becomes a nightmare as an accident separates them from their raft and everything they need to survive. And, the true intent of their would-be saviors makes it more important that Winifred draws on unknown strength. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6YNdfClHggo/WDnjIP_gKeI/AAAAAAAAjCs/f7GrwvfiEZ4qbJGhnUt-rOWxolMtEvfAACLcB/s1600/In%2Bthe%2Bgreat%2Bgreen%2Broom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6YNdfClHggo/WDnjIP_gKeI/AAAAAAAAjCs/f7GrwvfiEZ4qbJGhnUt-rOWxolMtEvfAACLcB/s200/In%2Bthe%2Bgreat%2Bgreen%2Broom.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Author Amy Grant discovered unpublished manuscripts, songs, personal letters, and diaries from Margaret Wise Brown. Her research led to&nbsp;<i>In the Great Green Room,</i> the story of the life of the woman behind <i>Goodnight Moon</i> and <i>The Runaway Bunny</i>. (Release date is Jan. 10.)<br /><br /><br />Did you find anything of interest today? If not, come back tomorrow for the second half of January Treasures in My Closet.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-5168089763008763952016-11-30T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-30T03:00:29.701-07:00What Are You Reading?<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--eZAEE9cJHQ/WD4ZHG5MWNI/AAAAAAAAjEg/-Dti-k_308kXNZynNORaTv0dKim5m6cIQCLcB/s1600/Dead%2BMan%2BWalking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--eZAEE9cJHQ/WD4ZHG5MWNI/AAAAAAAAjEg/-Dti-k_308kXNZynNORaTv0dKim5m6cIQCLcB/s1600/Dead%2BMan%2BWalking.jpg" /></a>I'm a day early this week, but I've been working on those big monthly posts, Treasures in My Closet, so I haven't had time to finish a book. I've really just started the second Ishmael Jones mystery by Simon R. Green, <i>Dead Man Walking.</i>&nbsp;I like Ishmael's deadpan comments. And, black humor is right up my alley.<br /><br />So, while I'm adding titles that might put more books on your TBR piles, what books have you been reading? Did you finish anything good this week? Or, are you into something you're enjoying? We'd love to know!Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-36865066993416722242016-11-29T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-29T03:00:12.707-07:00Upstream by Mary Oliver<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lZMb0Bu49OY/WDzg8viCDmI/AAAAAAAAjEI/Zv6CCcO9OvYmpYluP6bptXBbi71ELK53wCLcB/s1600/Upstream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lZMb0Bu49OY/WDzg8viCDmI/AAAAAAAAjEI/Zv6CCcO9OvYmpYluP6bptXBbi71ELK53wCLcB/s1600/Upstream.jpg" /></a>A friend asked me if I read poetry, and I said not really. But, I respect the turn of a phrase, the rhythm, the poetic handling of words in an essay. I don't often read what critics call "literature". However, I'm a fan of essays, and with a recommendation of Mary Oliver, I picked up her recent bestseller, <i>Upstream</i>.<br /><br />Oliver is a poet who also writes essays, in this case a collection about her close connection to nature. She says, "I could not be a poet without the natural world. Someone else could. But not me. For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple." Time and again, Oliver uses doors and houses and foxes as she observes the world. Books and nature were her escape as a child, and they still serve the same purpose. Without going into detail about her childhood, she indicates she's alive today because she found ways to escape. And one door led her to a natural world that was as essential to her survival as air.<br /><br />In section 3, Oliver seems to make a departure from her essays about her existence when she discusses earlier writers. She discusses Emerson, Poe, Whitman, and Wordsworth. But, it's not really a departure. She examines their lives and their connections to their works, just as she examines her own need for nature as she writes.<br /><br />There's a little melancholy to Mary Oliver's essays. The observance of nature also means an observance of the cycle of life. It makes for an awareness of a person's own aging, and eventual disappearance from the world. Her awareness is evident in stories of a gull, the turtles, the spider. But, she also recognizes joy. My favorite essay is called "Ropes" about a dog who wouldn't stay home. She says the story could have several morals. "Or maybe it's about the wonderful things that may happen if you break the ropes that are holding you."<br /><br />Maybe.<br /><br />Upstream by Mary Oliver. Penguin Press. 2016. ISBN 9781594206702 (hardcover), 178p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - I bought my copy of the book.Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-86120868167763318062016-11-28T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-28T03:00:19.462-07:00The Red-Letter Day by SP McArdle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sSHSLQ6xU60/WDucmPrL7DI/AAAAAAAAjDQ/y_KMEMqQr9Y0R21vEClW2Gr6fAC5vK2ZQCLcB/s1600/Red-Letter%2BDay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sSHSLQ6xU60/WDucmPrL7DI/AAAAAAAAjDQ/y_KMEMqQr9Y0R21vEClW2Gr6fAC5vK2ZQCLcB/s320/Red-Letter%2BDay.jpg" width="240" /></a>There's a story behind this story. <i>The Red-Letter Day</i> is a juvenile book for ages 8-12 by SP McArdle <br />who is related to my brother-in-law, Kevin. When we were in Dublin, Kevin's cousin, John Henry, mentioned their cousin had written a children's book about the Easter Rising. Because I am fascinated by that story, I ordered the book. Yes, the climax of the book is the Easter Rising, and McArdle published this on April 24, 2016, exactly one hundred years to the day from that event. But, her book is a children's book about the history of Ireland that requires some knowledge of that history. Because Irish children will know the history, McArdle doesn't name the historic sites or people until the end of the book.<br /><br />The scenario is a little reminiscent of The Magic Treehouse books. Jenny has great adventures at the farmhouse owned by her aunt and uncle. There's a portal to history in one bedroom, and the guardian of the portal is a cranky gnome named Jeremiah. He uses a suitcase to send Jenny back in time, and he usually sets her watch for a certain date. This time, she finds herself sent back to find a special parchment and pen, and to touch the finished "Freedom Document" to come home again.<br /><br />This time, Jeremiah doesn't provide a guide. When Jenny finds herself at a university in 1871, she meets a man in a black robe who says he's her guide, and says to call him O'Flahertie. She also encounters a man named Dorian, who "looks handsome, but underneath it's a different story." Her guide takes her inside an enormous library, and then to see a special book that sets her on her adventure. Her quest takes Jenny and "O'Flahertie" to 806 AD, where they follow the legendary giant Finn McCool, seeing the Giant's Causeway and the beehive huts that were once homes to monks.<br /><br />As part of the journey, Jenny and O'Flahertie run into ten writers, five English and five Irish, who argue over a book. By now, Jenny has learned the significance of blue appearances or green ones. Those who are blue are ghosts, while green people have not actually been born yet. So, she's shaken when the final stop is 1916, and she realizes her guide should now be blue. And, she's shattered when she sees that the leaders of the rebellion in Dublin are all blue.<br /><br />McArdle's first book in the Suitcase series is an excellent introduction to the story of Ireland for children. She plans future books about Paris and New York. While the adventure itself was fascinating, Jenny's conscience is a little awkward. She refers to the two sides of her nature as Risky Self and Sensible Self. That aspect seems unnecessary since she has a guide on her journey. Children will appreciate the book for Jenny's adventure. Adult readers, familiar with Irish history and literature, will recognize the figures and stories in the book, although they are not given names in the course of the novel.<br /><br />Because few of you will ever read the book since it's available only from the author in Ireland, I'm going to mention a few of the facts that McArdle includes at the end of the book. Jenny originally lands at Trinity College in Ireland, where she sees The Book of Kells. Finn McCool is a giant in Irish legend, said to have built the Giant's Causeway. And, in 1916, Jenny witnesses the reading of the Irish Proclamation of Independence, read outside the Government Post Office in Dublin by Padraig Pearse during the Easter Rising. Along with the other men who signed the proclamation, he was executed.<br /><br />And, Jenny's guide? He was a witty man who said, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it." "Society often forgives the criminal; it never forgives the dreamer." Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde.<br /><br />SP McArdle's website is <a href="http://www.spmcardle.com/">www.spmcardle.com</a><br /><br />The Red-Letter Day by SP McArdle. SPPublishInk.com. 2016. ISBN 9780993582004 (paperback), 132p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - I bought my copy of the book.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xM012KWZTvA/WDui5HiBgGI/AAAAAAAAjDo/97U6IogUGr0hMdQ-r93OXvxr3PhYv_CcQCLcB/s1600/Book%2Bof%2BKells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xM012KWZTvA/WDui5HiBgGI/AAAAAAAAjDo/97U6IogUGr0hMdQ-r93OXvxr3PhYv_CcQCLcB/s320/Book%2Bof%2BKells.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trinity College Library</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iMGvwmzVf-I/WDui5G40sCI/AAAAAAAAjDk/fVwdviyBpU407wTsLUxAm8yiUHV8Pg-QACLcB/s1600/Trinity%2BCollege.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iMGvwmzVf-I/WDui5G40sCI/AAAAAAAAjDk/fVwdviyBpU407wTsLUxAm8yiUHV8Pg-QACLcB/s320/Trinity%2BCollege.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trinity College</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fg4Oxc-pGQw/WDujW0ol7DI/AAAAAAAAjDs/tSrD49xPBb0Jx-8huN3QdB2HDkm0WWJtgCEw/s1600/Beehive%2Bhuts%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fg4Oxc-pGQw/WDujW0ol7DI/AAAAAAAAjDs/tSrD49xPBb0Jx-8huN3QdB2HDkm0WWJtgCEw/s320/Beehive%2Bhuts%2B5.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beehive Huts</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Obswrh3V0yA/WDujsXVHd9I/AAAAAAAAjDw/UOXV9NSiqVAHDgdENh6e7qE7UNe6t2jHACEw/s1600/wildestatuedublin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Obswrh3V0yA/WDujsXVHd9I/AAAAAAAAjDw/UOXV9NSiqVAHDgdENh6e7qE7UNe6t2jHACEw/s320/wildestatuedublin.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar Wilde Statue in Merrion Square, Dublin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-61763542198872471902016-11-27T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-27T03:00:26.779-07:00December 2016 Cozy Mysteries from Berkley PublishingThis month's book chat only features seven cozy mysteries from Berkley Publishing, but Jinx stopped by!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/elKv5-4d7dU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/elKv5-4d7dU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br /><br /><br />Here are the titles featured this month.<br /><br /><i>Dead, Bath, and Beyond </i>by Lorraine Bartlett with Laurie Cass (4th Victoria Square mystery)<br /><i>Egg Drop Dead</i> by Laura Childs (7th Cackleberry Club mystery)<br /><i>Spouse on Haunted Hill</i> by E.J. Copperman (8th Haunted Guesthouse mystery)<br /><i>Prose and Cons</i> by Amanda Flowers (2nd Magical Bookshop mystery)<br /><i>Frosty the Dead Man</i> by Christine Husom (3rd Snow Globe Shop mystery)<br /><i>The Ghosts of Misty Hollow</i> by Sue Ann Jaffarian (6th Ghost of Granny Apples mystery, 3rd from Berkley Publishing)<br /><i>Crime and Catnip</i> by T.C. LoTempio (3rd Nick &amp; Nora mystery)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Happy Holidays from Jinx &amp; me!</b></div>Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-2373563233443009172016-11-26T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-26T03:00:25.905-07:00The Dark Side of the Road by Simon R. Green<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eHK7oIFeNNg/WDh0ff51FeI/AAAAAAAAjAw/WYQxGftn2rQUQVL2sN-ZJd_bzDa2KAutQCLcB/s1600/Dark%2BSide%2Bof%2Bthe%2BRoad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eHK7oIFeNNg/WDh0ff51FeI/AAAAAAAAjAw/WYQxGftn2rQUQVL2sN-ZJd_bzDa2KAutQCLcB/s1600/Dark%2BSide%2Bof%2Bthe%2BRoad.jpg" /></a>Simon R. Green's homage to Agatha Christie's mysteries isn't like any other tribute I've ever read. But, then, Green's urban fantasies are twisted and a little gruesome, and wonderful. Welcome to Ishmael Jones' world in the first mystery in that series,&nbsp;<i>The Dark Side of the Road</i>.<br /><br />When Ishmael Jones' boss in The Organization, the Colonel, tells him he needs him at his family's country house estate in Cornwall, Ishmael heads out into a terrible blizzard. "Off into the night, and the dark, one more time. To do things in the shadows that the everyday people don't need to know about." But, when he arrives, he finds the Colonel's family and a few friends gathered fro Christmas. There's the Colonel's father, Walter Belcourt; Walter's current wife and gorgeous daughter, Penny; his ex-wife, Diana, who is the Colonel's mother; Diana's companion; a business acquaintance of Walter's, and Penny's ex-fiance. Of course, there is also a mysterious butler and a cook. But, there's no Colonel. When Ishmael and Penny find a body out in the snow, it's all to obvious that they're stranded in the country house with a killer.<br /><br />In typical Christie fashion, the bodies pile up as the suspects persist in wandering off by themselves in the manor. However, the murders are a little more grisly than in traditional mysteries. But, it's easy to recognize the patterns, and Green plays with the reader. Ishmael and the Colonel once worked on a case involving Roger Styles, two names familiar to Christie fans. Of course, there's a military title, the Colonel. But, the most amusing correlation comes with a conversation between Walter's ex-wife and his present one. Diana starts with, "'I feel like a character in an Agatha Christie novel! Which is never good for a minor character...'" "'I am not a minor character!' Melanie said immediately. 'Walter; tell that woman I am not a minor character!'"<br /><br />If you don't mind a little horror and supernatural elements in your mystery, if you're a fan of Agatha Christie, you might want to venture into Ishmael Jones territory, "the hidden world, and the dark side of the road". Simon R. Green has once again created an intriguing hero and a fascinating world in the first in his new series, <i>The Dark Side of the Road</i>.<br /><br />Simon R. Green's website is <a href="http://www.simonrgreen.co.uk/">www.simonrgreen.co.uk</a><br /><br />The Dark Side of the Road by Simon R. Green. Severn House. 2015. ISBN 9780727883889 (hardcover), 217p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - Library book<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-21940357044582721962016-11-25T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-25T03:00:05.894-07:00Winners and Cozy Mystery GiveawayCongratulations to the winners of the last contest. David Rosenfelt's The Twelve Dogs of Christmas will go to Jacqueline F. from Chicago, IL. Jennifer M. of Oakland, CA won Snowfall on Haven Point. The books will go out in the mail today.<br /><br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BHIfTMcWz1o/WDenR9kGoAI/AAAAAAAAjAU/jfbyFHpCJKU9373FCfBX35qszJUf3Wo8QCLcB/s1600/Digging%2BUp%2Bthe%2BDirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BHIfTMcWz1o/WDenR9kGoAI/AAAAAAAAjAU/jfbyFHpCJKU9373FCfBX35qszJUf3Wo8QCLcB/s200/Digging%2BUp%2Bthe%2BDirt.jpg" width="124" /></a>This week, I'm giving away two cozy mysteries. Miranda James' <i>Digging Up the Dirt </i>is the latest Southern Ladies mystery. An'gel and Dickce Ducote are just two of the women who once had feelings for Hadley Partridge. Now that he's back in town to restore his family mansion, all the women in the Athena Garden Club are fluttering around him again. But, death and bodies seem to pile up around, Hadley, and the Ducote sisters will use all the gossip and stories of the past to find a killer.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OJOCqwMrphQ/WDenqLpbJII/AAAAAAAAjAY/bBWnQgvtec8A3qfgPUHp2wgMWieqLjUKACLcB/s1600/Twice%2BTold%2BTale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OJOCqwMrphQ/WDenqLpbJII/AAAAAAAAjAY/bBWnQgvtec8A3qfgPUHp2wgMWieqLjUKACLcB/s200/Twice%2BTold%2BTale.jpg" width="124" /></a></div>Or, you could win Ali Brandon's <i>Twice Told Tail</i>, a Black Cat Bookshop mystery. Darla Pettistone from Pettistone's Fine Books teams up with Hamlet the cat to find a killer who might be involved with a suspiciously high price for an antique book on the store's online store.<br /><br />Which book would you like to win? You can enter to win both, but I need separate entries. Email me at <a href="mailto:Lesa.Holstine@gmail.com">Lesa.Holstine@gmail.com</a>. Your subject heading should read either "Win Digging Up the Dirt" or "Win Twice Told Tail." Please include your name and mailing address. Entries from the U.S. only, please. The giveaway will end Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6 PM CT.Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-64488973222243737192016-11-23T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-23T06:33:50.596-07:00Happy Thanksgiving.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8BWLuZ-9110/WDTn0vwi77I/AAAAAAAAi_8/aJmt8IGkccMg6iIuTTCtFooqr_jaPbDjwCLcB/s1600/Thanksgiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8BWLuZ-9110/WDTn0vwi77I/AAAAAAAAi_8/aJmt8IGkccMg6iIuTTCtFooqr_jaPbDjwCLcB/s400/Thanksgiving.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I'm going to send you all my Thanksgiving wishes today, and take tomorrow off. I'm grateful for all of you who read with me, share your books and your reading, and love books. Thank you for sticking with me when I've been busy, attending conferences, going on trips. I appreciate all of you, and hope we'll be together for a number of years.<br /><br />I'm thankful for my entire family. My mom and sisters, Linda and Christie, and I had the chance to celebrate Mom's birthday together in June. We talked and laughed so much. There's nothing more wonderful than spending time with them, and laughing as much as we did. Congratulations to a niece and nephew for their engagements this year. And, thank you to Linda and her husband, Kevin, for that lifetime dream trip to Ireland. And, I'm grateful to Linda. Our recent trip to New York City was a post-election therapy trip as much as anything. We may not be happy about the results, but we can share our passion and willingness to stand up for what's right. Thank you, Linda.<br /><br />Authors and the crime fiction community! This blog and my Poisoned Pen blog, and so much of what I do would not exist without you. Thank you for sharing your words, your books, and your time.<br /><br />I love to travel, and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to attend conferences and travel this year. And, I had the chance to see plays that I loved, and concerts.<br /><br />And, I want to thank friends. I have wonderful friends, and we share books and laugh together. I'm grateful that Kaye and David are in my life. I'm glad I can see Chantelle now in New York as well as in Arizona. Thanks to Sandie for helping with "Have You Heard?" And, Donna gets an entire entry. We share books and hugs, a love of theater and Celtic Thunder and Byrne and Kelly, and try to help each other when we can. Donna and her husband, Terry, invite me over for holidays and meals. And, I know I'll never go hungry when Terry's cooking (smile).<br /><br />Family, friends, ones I've met and ones I've only corresponded with, travel. And, of course, my books and cats. I hope you have as much to be thankful for this year.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Happy Thanksgiving!</b></div><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-15143191703041339022016-11-22T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-22T03:00:12.985-07:00What Are You Reading?<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7IeCloN8p80/WDOgvPfCamI/AAAAAAAAi_k/x6ucwwGXu_M1Gxtmff8S1OzYPsmFg8awgCLcB/s1600/Sleeping%2BBeauty%2BKiller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7IeCloN8p80/WDOgvPfCamI/AAAAAAAAi_k/x6ucwwGXu_M1Gxtmff8S1OzYPsmFg8awgCLcB/s1600/Sleeping%2BBeauty%2BKiller.jpg" /></a>If you read yesterday's comments, you saw this coming. Jeff mentioned that I haven't featured "What Are You Reading" lately. It's an easy post, but I like to have time to see what you're all reading. And, when I'm out of town, I don't have a lot of time for the blog.<br /><br />I've just started <i>The Sleeping Beauty Killer</i> by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke. It's book three in a series I really like. Television producer Laurie Moran and her "Under Suspicion" team take on cold cases, trying to determine if a suspect is actually guilty, or if someone else committed murder. This time, Casey Carter went to prison for the murder of her wealthy fiancé, all the time insisting she was asleep when he was killed. Fifteen years later, when she's released, she still insists she's innocent, and wants the "Under Suspicion" team to investigate.<br /><br />So, what are you reading before the holiday? Please let us know!Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-65641731594215355562016-11-21T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-21T03:00:24.766-07:00Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Grx_9KBmsik/WDJiTb4HLWI/AAAAAAAAi_Q/KkhIvk_c25kYbQIoX2tSiJni0f7e2u1tgCLcB/s1600/Just%2BKilling%2BTime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Grx_9KBmsik/WDJiTb4HLWI/AAAAAAAAi_Q/KkhIvk_c25kYbQIoX2tSiJni0f7e2u1tgCLcB/s1600/Just%2BKilling%2BTime.jpg" /></a>I may not always get around to reading a book the month I receive it, or, in this case, even the year I receive it. But, my sister picked a mystery out of my TBR pile last weekend, and, on her recommendation, I read it. She was right. Julianne Holmes' first Clock Shop Mystery, <i>Just Killing Time</i>, is terrific. There's no romantic triangle. The amateur sleuth does not set out to be a heroine. And, she isn't too stupid to live. I'm ready to read the second in the series, <i>Clock and Dagger.</i><br /><br />After Ruth Clagan's beloved grandmother died, she and her grandfather had a falling out. She hadn't seen him in five years, but she wrote to him after her divorce, asking him if she could come visit. She never has that chance. Instead, she hears from his lawyer, saying he had a heart attack while someone attacked him, and the police are viewing it as murder. Now, Ruth, who shares her grandfather's passion for clocks, has inherited the master craftsman's clock shop, the Cog &amp; Sprocket. But, Orchard, Massachusetts isn't exactly the welcoming town Ruth remembers from her years visiting, and then living, with her grandparents.<br /><br />It seems G.T., Grandpa Thom, was actively stirring up trouble in town. Or, to be more precise, he and a friend were fighting the town manager and the people who wanted to develop Orchard. Then, G.T.'s old friend died, leaving him to fight the battle. A few townspeople, including the new owner of the hair salon, were on G.T.'s side. And, the more Ruth pokes around in her grandfather's records, the more she's convinced the town problems might be the cause of G.T.'s murder.<br /><br />Holmes does an excellent job introducing the small town to the reader. Ruth herself is an outsider, back after a lengthy absence, so we see the changes and the townspeople through her eyes. And, we see her grandfather through her eyes, and the eyes of a newcomer. He was an important figure in town, and, as his granddaughter, she never saw the activist side of him. Ruth learns a great deal about her estranged grandfather through the eyes of others. While she wants to find out who the killer is, to bring closure and peace for herself and her grandfather's widow, she isn't actively pounding the pavement, looking for a killer. She's using the clocks, her knowledge of them and the family records of clocks, to search for G.T.'s knowledge. And, the author doesn't portray Ruth as a stupid sleuth. In fact, at one point she admits to herself, "I was no hero. Let the police do their job."<br /><br />It's easy to miss a new series and a new amateur sleuth. It's worth going back to pick up Julianne Holmes' <i>Just Killing Time.</i><br /><i><br /></i>Julianne Holmes' website is <a href="http://www.julianneholmes.com/">www.julianneholmes.com</a>, and she's one of the authors at <a href="https://wickedcozyauthors.com/">https://wickedcozyauthors.com</a><br /><br />Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes. Berkley Prime Crime. 2015. ISBN 9780425275528 (paperback), 294p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.<br /><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-40065233976530203362016-11-20T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-20T03:00:01.536-07:00Books for Living by Will Schwalbe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ9Z0X3NHNM/WDD0j8opn3I/AAAAAAAAi-4/-hokKc5DAjoXdRvMAItZMDYPKC0mud8RQCLcB/s1600/Books%2Bfor%2BLiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ9Z0X3NHNM/WDD0j8opn3I/AAAAAAAAi-4/-hokKc5DAjoXdRvMAItZMDYPKC0mud8RQCLcB/s1600/Books%2Bfor%2BLiving.jpg" /></a></div>I'm doing something I seldom do on my blog, talking about a book that isn't available for another month. It's released December 27th. If you're a reader, you might want to ask for it for an after-holiday gift, or use a gift card to buy it. Many of you might remember Will Schwalbe's&nbsp;<i>The End of Your Life Book Club</i>, written about the books he and his mother discussed when she was dying. Now, he's written a very personal book about books that have been essential in explaining his own life. It's a fascinating collection. You'll recognize some of the titles in <i>Books for Living</i>. Even if they aren't books that resonate with you, they may trigger your own memories.<br /><br />Schwalbe's introduction includes one of the scariest nightmares a reader could face, not being able to find a book for a long trip. His storytelling is charming. And, he says, "It's the thought of being bookless for hours that jolts me awake in a cold sweat." I'm right there with him.<br /><br />In my field, we do Reader's Advisory, suggesting books others might want to read. Schwalbe could do excellent reader's advisory. He understands that people have to find "the right book at the right time, the one that tells you what you need to know or feel when you need to know or feel it."<br /><br />Schwalbe analyzes the books that have moved him over the years, titles such as <i>The Girl on the Train, Stuart Little, The Odyssey, The Little Prince</i>. He summarizes the book while also discussing his relationship with the title. Schwalbe says, "Every book changes your life. So I like to ask: How is this book changing mine?"<br /><br /><i>Books for Living</i> might not change your life. But, it might remind you of books that did change your life. I'm suggesting Will Schwalbe's book for all of us who are passionate about collecting books that move us, change us, influence our lives.<br /><br />Books for Living by Will Schwalbe. Alfred A. Knopf. 2017. ISBN 9780385353540 (hardcover), 288p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-88535572468600299452016-11-19T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-19T03:00:11.264-07:00"Have You Heard?" - Dead Bolt by Juliet Blackwell<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">“Have You Heard?” is a new column featured only on Lesa’s Book Critiques.&nbsp; It features many reviews of audiobooks (fiction, with a concentration in mysteries) but these reviews will include recent and past books for an interesting mixture of titles. Content is often written by Sandie Herron.&nbsp; It also covers news of note and not generally available, such as ASAP publishing a limited edition for a certain author or perhaps something important out of Publisher’s Weekly.&nbsp; The column is published sporadically, so you’ll want to watch for it!</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">*****</span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dead Bolt</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/2RJJByajXi0crXnbHxJhTpAW3ZXWAl75TAU7W0u_5cnvC_XrNX7b45Bu8FixNgtJH38DvDrCH4U_GSZrrWWzPQ3xAN6sg_17oMHkDk5nP2PslOMdBiAABmr_nuSRekkcf8h0gXVpPm41Ohz3Nw" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51G03JjMOxL._AA300_.jpg" border="0" height="144" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/2RJJByajXi0crXnbHxJhTpAW3ZXWAl75TAU7W0u_5cnvC_XrNX7b45Bu8FixNgtJH38DvDrCH4U_GSZrrWWzPQ3xAN6sg_17oMHkDk5nP2PslOMdBiAABmr_nuSRekkcf8h0gXVpPm41Ohz3Nw" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="144" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10744349-dead-bolt" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series: &nbsp;Haunted Home Renovation Mystery #2</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Written by </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2924930.Juliet_Blackwell" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Juliet Blackwell</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Narrated by Xe Sands</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unabridged Audiobook, Listening Length: 7 hours&nbsp;and&nbsp;19 minutes</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: Tantor Audio</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audible.com Release Date: September 9, 2013</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ASIN: B00EV2ONDI</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-ca11758d-7a5a-7fd0-1871-5b81bf85ae62"><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've read this book previously, and I'm surprised that I did not write a previous review. I like to write something if not a complete review as I think of it, just so I record my initial thoughts and/or feelings upon completion.</span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Briefly, the book follows Mel Turner, current head of Turner Construction, a leading company that renovates old homes in San Francisco to their former glory as much as possible and to the extent their clients desire.</span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mel has run into some snags on the renovation of The Cheshire House, once a boarding home with many feline residents. Today all that is gone, and a young couple thrilled to finally own it have hired Mel to restore it to its former state before the boarding home. </span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They don't quite realize at first that this will include laying three or four ghosts to rest. The story of their demise is actually based in fact. Mel's former beau, Graham, has left his former job with Cal. OSHA in favor of green construction methods, at Mel's suggestion. He plays a key role in dispelling the ghosts. Even the neighbor across the street with his upholstery shop helped and hindered. There were many subplots well presented and explained and tied into the ending, far too many to list here without spoiling the book. </span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I enjoyed DEAD BOLT just as much this time if not more. I was able to make much more sense of the many twists and turns of this title. I'm sure some of that came with my familiarity with the characters and the city. I could devote a bit more emotional energy into following the intricacies of the plot as well as the spirits in the attic. Granted my interest was further piqued by Mel renovating The Cheshire House because of the many cats that lived there at one time.</span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;comic sans ms&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've truly enjoyed the story, the many mysteries within, and the variety of people who populated it. Further, I still enjoy Xe Sands' voice narrating the book with the numerous foreign words and phrases rolling off her tongue as naturally and seemingly effortlessly as a child's fairy tale. A narrator can make or break an audiobook, and I think Xe Sands helps make it as much as Juliet Blackwell's writing each time. Highly recommended. </span></span>Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-46469767043940479592016-11-18T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-18T03:00:24.475-07:00Winners and Christmas Book GiveawayCongratulations to the winners of the last contest. <i>Christmas in Paris </i>is going to Linda B. from Fort Wayne, IN. Glen D. from Yuba City, CA won Rhys Bowen's <i>Away in a Manger</i>. The books will go out in the mail tomorrow.<br /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BfCP-Y6VJgc/WC5UuRmODVI/AAAAAAAAi9U/JOgP8FGRoI0AeGJaP5mUqf_-TJ7D5BdyACLcB/s1600/Twelve%2BDogs%2Bof%2BChristmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BfCP-Y6VJgc/WC5UuRmODVI/AAAAAAAAi9U/JOgP8FGRoI0AeGJaP5mUqf_-TJ7D5BdyACLcB/s200/Twelve%2BDogs%2Bof%2BChristmas.jpg" width="132" /></a>A couple weeks ago, I gave away a copy of David Rosenfelt's <i>The Twelve Dogs of Christmas</i>. I have a second copy to give away, a hardcover for yourself or to give as a present.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;">It features criminal defense lawyer Andy Carpenter and his faithful golden retriever, Tara, in a story with Rosenfelt's trademark humor. Andy takes on a case for a friend who rescues stray puppies. Just before Christmas, a neighbor reported her for having more than the legal number of pets. When that neighbor ends up dead, guess who the murder suspect is.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><br /></span></span></span><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3caknP7eYUY/WC5U92mNj-I/AAAAAAAAi9Y/DLx0jMpkMoc9ST8OfMRfuRk-Hls2FUGLwCLcB/s1600/Haven%2BPoint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3caknP7eYUY/WC5U92mNj-I/AAAAAAAAi9Y/DLx0jMpkMoc9ST8OfMRfuRk-Hls2FUGLwCLcB/s200/Haven%2BPoint.jpg" width="126" /></a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.850000381469727px;">Or, you could win RaeAnne Thayne's </span></span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;">Snowfall on Haven Point</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.850000381469727px;">. This one is a Christmas romance, bringing together a&nbsp;widow and her two kids with a grouchy sheriff. Andrea Montgomery only wants her children to enjoy their first Christmas in Haven Point. But, when a friend asks her to check on her brother, a sheriff who is recovering from a hit-and-run, she can hardly refuse. Then, a blizzard forces them together for the holidays.</span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.850000381469727px;">Are you&nbsp;in the mood for a Christmas mystery or a romance? You can enter to win both, but I need separate entries. Because the titles are long, let's make this easy. Email me at <a href="http://Lesa.Holstine@gmail.com./">Lesa.Holstine@gmail.com.</a>&nbsp;Your subject heading should read either "Win Mystery" or "Win Romance." Please include your name and mailing address. Entries from the U.S. only, please. The contest will end Thanksgiving evening, Nov. 24 at 6 PM CT.</span></span></span><br /><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-24515453044099459722016-11-17T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-17T03:00:13.054-07:00Wanted - Short Posts from Mystery Authors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYNrLACcBxY/WC0d0KgjHqI/AAAAAAAAi9A/qyz7W5TGs2I5v9hkDfbSSQR-sp8cLjDQQCLcB/s1600/Miracle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYNrLACcBxY/WC0d0KgjHqI/AAAAAAAAi9A/qyz7W5TGs2I5v9hkDfbSSQR-sp8cLjDQQCLcB/s400/Miracle.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah ha! I bet that wasn't exactly what you expected to see on my blog in mid-November. It's one of my favorite Christmas books. I'm looking for mystery authors to write a short piece about their favorite holiday mystery, or their favorite mysteries of 2016.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -0.23999999463558197px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the blogger for The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, I also send out their monthly calendar, and saw that one of the discussion groups will be sharing favorite holiday or 2016 mysteries. So, if you'd like to do the same, I'll use it at the end of this month &amp; during December on the blog. You can tell us your favorite holiday mystery or mysteries, or your top 3-5 mysteries of 2016. The books MUST be in print. And, I'd like a .jpeg photo of you. Interested? Email me at <a href="mailto:Lesa@poisonedpen.com">Lesa@poisonedpen.com</a>. I can repeat there what I'm looking for. I want a very short summary of your selection. Thanks!</span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-79264973045191377682016-11-16T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-16T03:00:01.771-07:00And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-2wHhCxfOM/WCvOpJpNWfI/AAAAAAAAi8c/6mm25awVwmgB3SYpRxiXNdu-8kMzQN0lACLcB/s1600/And%2BEvery%2BMorning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-2wHhCxfOM/WCvOpJpNWfI/AAAAAAAAi8c/6mm25awVwmgB3SYpRxiXNdu-8kMzQN0lACLcB/s1600/And%2BEvery%2BMorning.jpg" /></a>I have a confession to make. Even though I'm a librarian, I sometimes balk at reading the authors everyone else is reading. I've even heard Fredrik Backman speak, and he loves libraries, but despite everyone's comments about his novels, such as&nbsp;<i>A Man Called Ove</i>, I haven't yet read the books. Sometimes, though, I can come at an author's works via a novella. <i>And Every Morning the Way Gets Home Gets Longer and Longer</i> is just that, a novella that draws in a reader.<br /><br />It's a big story in a small package, a story that will break your heart. It's a story of the love shared by a Grandpa and his grandson, Noah. They share a love of math and fishing, and memories of Grandma. But, Grandpa's world is changing. They're in an unfamiliar world that seems to be shrinking. "We're in my brain, Noahnoah. And it got smaller overnight again." When Noah asks about pieces of paper, his Grandpa answers, "Those are ideas blowing away and they've been doing that for a long time."<br /><br />Backman says good-byes are hard. And, they're hard when everyone knows they're coming. Grandpa worries he won't remember his stories. He won't know what to do when they're lost in his world. "What do I say to Noah? How do I explain that I"m leaving him even before I do?" And, the wise Noah says he'll tell Grandpa the stories so they can remember, and, if Grandpa forgets him, he'll get to meet him all over again, and he's a pretty nice person to meet.<br /><br />It might sound hokey to say Backman's story tugs at your heartstrings. If you've ever loved a grandparent or a parent, and watched them age, the novella will break your heart. But, there's so much love in Backman's A<i>nd Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer</i> that you'll want to share this book with others. It's worth sharing.<br /><br />And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrick Backman. Atria Books. 2016. 9781501160486 (hardcover), 76p.<br /><br />*****<br />FTC Full Disclosure - Library book<br /><br /><br />Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9995206.post-9139763819119471722016-11-14T03:00:00.000-07:002016-11-14T03:00:20.691-07:00Have You Heard? - What's a Ghoul to Do? by Victoria Laurie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hoz14_W66tg/WCIENTJWMjI/AAAAAAAAi7c/avAKnnWR6XkalX9tc38kJmJ_yj0kTzS-ACLcB/s1600/Ghoul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hoz14_W66tg/WCIENTJWMjI/AAAAAAAAi7c/avAKnnWR6XkalX9tc38kJmJ_yj0kTzS-ACLcB/s1600/Ghoul.jpg" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What's a Ghoul to Do?</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ghost Hunter Mystery #1</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Written by Victoria Laurie, Narrated by Eileen Stevens</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hours 10 mins long</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published January 5th 2010 by Audible Inc (first published April 3rd 2007) </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ASIN: B0032Z3L2Y</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp; </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-499dbe2b-44df-827d-89c3-63dead6065d9"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Victoria Laurie brings us a fascinating series in this first book featuring MJ Holliday (yes, Doc Holliday was her great, great uncle) and Gilley Gillespie. MJ is a psychic medium who can communicate with the dead; Gilley is a techno geek who helps her with all the machinery that goes with a ghost hunt, the night vision goggles, thermal cameras, walkie talkies for them to stay in touch, etc. &nbsp;MJ works alone while Gilley usually stays in the van monitoring all those instruments she uses or have been strategically placed ahead of time. </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The two have been friends for a long time and consider each other BFFs (best friends forever). Gilley is gay so there’s no possibility of a romantic duo here. Each lives in their own condo in Boston but share an office, where they are sitting doing mostly nothing since they haven’t exactly had loads of jobs lately, when Dr. Steven Sable walks in. </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dr. Sable’s grandfather recently passed away in what most are calling a suicide. He can’t believe his grandfather would jump from the roof of his hunting lodge in upstate Massachusetts that had been owned by the family for quite some time. The doctor needs to know because ownership of the lodge and surrounding land will change depending whether it was a suicide or not. Steven needs MJ’s help in communicating with his grandfather to determine why he fell from the roof and died.</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It wasn’t until a blind date set up by the local coffee shop’s owner went completely awry that MJ softened to Dr. Sable, now privately known as Dr. Delicious due to his being very handsome. One of MJ’s hard and fast rules had been that she worked alone. Dr. Sable was insisting on being there when she found his grandfather so he could chat with him. MJ finally agreed when the fee went high enough.</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Using all their high tech equipment and MJ’s instincts, they set off on a journey to find one ghost. However, they ended up finding several. In the process, many aspects of ghost busting are explained, such as what the various pieces of equipment did, what MJ did when she’d found a ghost, how she crossed them over when willing and also when not willing.</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Without giving you any more plot to spoil this exciting story, I can tell you this mystery really did turn into a mystery, not only a ghost story. The plot took several twists and unexpected turns and brought other characters into the story, both dead and alive. The ghostbusters never expected to need Dr. Sable’s medical help, too! Steven becomes an integral part of solving the many mysteries that they discover trying to solve the first one. </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I very much enjoyed the first book in this ghoulish series. It was fascinating to watch and learn how a true medium works. It was extremely funny to listen to Dr. Sable try to use up-to-date slang but not having English as his primary language for such a long time, he tends to botch sentences up. It is almost annoying after a while, but then the author cuts back a bit on the reactions of others listening to him, and the fun and charm return. </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MJ and Gilley start as best friends and remain that way at the end. They squabble and disagree but always make up in the end. They know firsthand all the stressors involved in ghost busting and give each other credit for surviving them. Steven fit in nicely with his novice hunting skills, finding himself enjoying the process and grateful for the conclusion. </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am impressed by how much this story grabbed my attention. I found myself reading a lot all of a sudden. I didn’t want the book to end, really, but now I look forward to the remainder of the series. Next up is DEMONS ARE A GHOUL’S BEST FRIEND. </span></span></div>Lesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946133849271512083noreply@blogger.com0